Children and young people have safe spaces to play, hang out and have fun.
“Play is a very misused adult word. To a child it is a way of life. To an adult it often means unimportant recreational things we do when we are not working”
(Jean-Jaques Rousseau)
Did you know that children have a legislated right to play? Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that children have the right to have rest and leisure, including playing and recreational activities. Not only is it seen by the UN as being important for children across the world, but it is also what the children and young people in Leeds have told us is important to them, because it is one of the wishes.
The Child Friendly Leeds 12 Wishes are based on the voices and ideas of 80,000 children and young people from Leeds.
Play is vital to the healthy development of a child. It is how they make sense of the world around them, build relationships, regulate their emotions and develop self-esteem. Most importantly, having enough time and space for play is a key indicator of a child’s happiness.
Play is pleasure – it contributes to quality of life and sense of well-being.
This wish is not just for young children. ‘Play’ doesn’t just mean playing make-believe or hopscotch, it’s just about doing something for enjoyment. For teenagers and young people, this might look more like hanging out and socialising and we need safe spaces for any child of any age to play in the way they want to.
At Leeds City Council, we are taking the right to play seriously, and we have lots of projects going on to increase the safe spaces and opportunities for children and young people to play. We’ve written about some of them in this month’s updates section.
Each month, we will also link you to useful pages and resources that could help towards the bottom of the page, including links to playful and safe spaces around Leeds.
This is your Wish 2 information hub.
Read our updates…
Play Sufficiency – Do children and young people have enough opportunities to play?
Play Streets – turning your street into a safe place to play
Urban95 – looking through the eyes of a three-year-old
Mini Playboxes and Leeds Libraries at Baby Week
What do young people think about Wish 2?
The 22/23 year of Play Enabling Grants (PEG)
Spotlight on:
Playful Partners in Leeds
The Leeds Play Community
Coming soon
Check out these resources/websites…
Playful spaces in Leeds
Organise a Play Street
Ludicology – the study of playfullness
(website)
What is playing out? (website)
Safe Places
(app)
Urban95 (website)
Check out our social media coverage:
Previous blog posts on similar topics:
- Baby Week Toddles into the UK
- Exhibitions, Microscopes and On the Bench with Thackray Museum
- The Ultimate Guide to Summer in Child Friendly Leeds
- Opportunity to apply for the Play Enabling Grant 2023-24
- How can we support children to play more in Leeds?
